Massive parallel processing: Difference between revisions

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'''Massive parallelism''' ('''MP''') is a term used in [[computer architecture]], [[reconfigurable computing]], [[application-specific integrated circuit]] (ASIC) and [[field-programmable gate array]] (FPGA) design. It signifies the presence of many independent [[arithmetic]] units or entire [[microprocessor]]s, that run in parallel. The term ''massive'' connotes hundreds if not thousands of such units. Early examples of such a system are the [[Distributed Array Processor]], the [[Goodyear MPP|Goodyear MP]], and the [[Connection Machine]].

Today's most powerful [[supercomputer]]s are all ''MPPMP'' systems such as [[Earth Simulator]], [[Blue Gene]], [[ASCI White]], [[ASCI Red]], [[ASCI Purple]], [[ASCI Thor's Hammer]].

In this class of computing, all of the processing elements are connected together to be one very large computer. This is in contrast to [[distributed computing]] where massive numbers of separate computers are used to solve a single problem.